I was curious about the computer/magnet question that Noel asked a
couple days ago and emailed a computer expert friend of mine about
it. He was in the middle of some crisis at work so answered a bit
cryptically, but his answer certainly gives cause for concern. Noel
asked:
In short, does somebody out there know just how paranoid one needs to be about magnets near computers? My friend replied:
A “tiny” magnet close or a “big” magnet far away.
Keeping credit cards and floppy disks in the same pocket is not a
good idea. Keeping your credit card in a top pocket and leaning over
the monitor to turn the computer on will often erase the credit
card’s magnetic stripe. Mounting a loudspeaker close to the hard disk
can make the hard disk unreliable, or make the display go out of
focus if it’s close to the display. But electrical spikes are much
more of a worry than magnetism. Hope this helps.
Beth